ostensible
[ o-sten-suh-buh l ]
/ ɒˈstɛn sə bəl /
adjective
outwardly appearing as such; professed; pretended: an ostensible cheerfulness concealing sadness.
apparent, evident, or conspicuous: the ostensible truth of their theories.
RELATED CONTENT
RELATED WORDS
plausible, avowed, professed, purported, apparent, demonstrative, exhibited, illusive, illusory, likely, manifest, notable, outward, pretended, quasi, seeming, so-called, specious, superficial, colorable
Nearby words
- osteitis fibrosa cystica,
- osteitis fungosa,
- ostempyesis,
- ostend,
- ostend manifesto,
- ostensibly,
- ostensive,
- ostensive definition,
- ostensively,
- ostensorium
Origin of ostensible
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for ostensible
ostensible
/ (ɒˈstɛnsɪbəl) /
adjective
apparent; seeming
pretended
Word Origin for ostensible
C18: via French from Medieval Latin ostensibilis, from Latin ostendere to show, from ob- before + tendere to extend
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
ostensible
1762, "capable of being shown, presentable," from French ostensible, from Latin ostens-, past participle stem of ostendere "to show, expose to view; to stretch out, spread before; exhibit, display," from ob "in front of" (see ob-) + tendere "to stretch" (see tenet). Meaning "apparent, professed" is from 1771.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper